Maxwell is a US soul and R&B singer-songwriter from Brooklyn, New York. Born in 1973, he emerges from a Puerto Rican and Black Caribbean family background and adopts his middle name as his stage name, keeping his private identity closely guarded in order to protect his family’s privacy.

Early life and musical background

Maxwell loses his father in a plane crash when he is three years old, an event that shapes him strongly as a person and artist. He grows up in a Baptist church, where he sings and plays keyboard. He does not begin to take music seriously until he is 17, when a friend gives him a cheap Casio keyboard and he starts writing his own songs. During adolescence he is not aware of the strength of his voice, and his vocal ability is later discovered during a romantic relationship that helps inspire the material for his first release.

His early influences come from early 1980s urban R&B and from the idea of the R&B auteur. He draws inspiration from artists including Marvin Gaye, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Sade and Anita Baker, with Baker credited by him as teaching him how to sing.

Career

By 1991 Maxwell is performing on the New York club scene. He signs to Columbia Records in 1994, after beginning to make a name for himself. His first release, Urban Hang Suite, establishes his reputation and is tied to the relationship that helps reveal his vocal talent.

Maxwell becomes an important figure in the development of neo-soul in the second half of the 1990s. His work is noted for ambitious R&B arrangements and for a recurring focus on romantic monogamy, which sets him apart from many of his contemporaries.

Key releases and recognition

He follows his breakthrough with the MTV Unplugged EP, drawn from a live MTV performance. That release broadens attention beyond the R&B audience, partly through his versions of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” and Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”. The MTV Unplugged version of “Whenever, Wherever, Whatever” also earns him a Grammy nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal.

His second full-length album, Embrya, appears in 1998 and enters the charts at number three. Although some critics view it as overly indulgent, it matches the platinum sales of its predecessor.

In 1999 he scores his biggest hit with “Fortunate”, an R. Kelly composition recorded for the film Life. The song becomes the number one R&B hit of that year in Billboard. He also records two songs for the soundtrack of The Best Man later that year.

His third full-length album, Now, arrives in 2001 and returns to a more straightforward romantic mood. It enters the album chart at number one and produces the hit single “Lifetime”.

After a break from the music industry, he releases BLACKsummers’night in 2009. It debuts at number one on the Billboard albums chart, making it his second album to reach that position. He describes his time away as a period taken simply to step back from the pressures of the industry. A follow-up, blackSUMMERS’night, is planned as the second part of a trilogy.

Style and significance

Maxwell is known for contemporary R&B, neo-soul, quiet storm and smooth soul. He is regarded as a major shaping force in neo-soul, with a style built around sophisticated songwriting, romantic themes and a strong emphasis on vocal performance.

Awards

Maxwell is a Grammy Award winner and receives further Grammy recognition for his work, including the nomination connected to “Whenever, Wherever, Whatever”.